Talos Energy (NYSE:TALO) and Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) Financial Contrast

Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) and Talos Energy (NYSE:TALO) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Magnolia Oil & Gas and Talos Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Magnolia Oil & Gas	$1.33 billion	3.35	$366.03 million	$1.91	12.21
Talos Energy	$1.97 billion	0.84	-$76.39 million	($0.97)	-9.81

Magnolia Oil & Gas has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Talos Energy. Talos Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Magnolia Oil & Gas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Magnolia Oil & Gas has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Talos Energy has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.7% of Magnolia Oil & Gas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.4% of Talos Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Magnolia Oil & Gas shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Talos Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Magnolia Oil & Gas and Talos Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Magnolia Oil & Gas	2	8	4	0	2.14
Talos Energy	0	2	6	0	2.75

Magnolia Oil & Gas currently has a consensus target price of $26.67, indicating a potential upside of 14.30%. Talos Energy has a consensus target price of $14.25, indicating a potential upside of 49.68%. Given Talos Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Talos Energy is more favorable than Magnolia Oil & Gas.

Profitability

This table compares Magnolia Oil & Gas and Talos Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Magnolia Oil & Gas	27.57%	19.34%	13.47%
Talos Energy	-8.91%	-2.34%	-1.03%

Summary

Magnolia Oil & Gas beats Talos Energy on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Magnolia Oil & Gas

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp. engages in the acquisition, development, exploration, and production of oil and natural gas properties. It operates assets located in the Eagle Ford Shale and Austin Chalk formations in South Texas. The company was founded on February 14, 2017 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

About Talos Energy

Talos Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States and Mexico. It also engages in the development of carbon capture and sequestration. Talos Energy Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.